"We were trying to figure a number out and he [Gavel] said, '17.' And I said, 'Okay, 17 it is.'

“That's how it came about.”

Norman said he plans to split the winnings as promised.

“I guarantee you, if I wouldn't have said that, I wouldn't have won,” he chuckled.

As for his share, Norman said he'll just use to it to “pay the bills.”

“Catch the Ace" committee member Kim Jo Bliss, who was present at the raffle draw Friday evening, said she had a feeling all week that the ticket drawn would result in the ace being "caught.”

“I don't know why," she admitted. ”And when I saw it was #17, I thought, 'Yep, that's the one.'

“I don't know why,” she reiterated.

Bliss said the committee—and patrons at the Legion—were excited to see Norman win.

But she also admitted she and many others were looking forward to the prospect of having a final round, during which they would “draw down” tickets until the ace was found.

As explained in last week's Times, the committee's lottery licence stipulates there is a cap on how much money can be paid out.

In this case, the amount jackpot, plus the amount of money which already has been paid out to the weekly winners, must be kept under $50,000.

If no one were to “catch the ace” in the next six weeks or so, organizers would have to hold a final round where a ticket will be drawn as normal.

If that first ticket drawn did not guess the envelope with the ace in it, it still would earn its owner the weekly prize.

Organizers then would keep drawing until a lucky person's ticket guessed the number of the envelope the ace was in and they would get the grand prize pot.

Nonetheless, having a grand prize winner get more than $20,000 was exciting, Bliss said.

“When we started this, one of our goals was to see the pot build and hopefully we could give somebody $20,000 or $25,000. We did that,” she noted.

"And Richard's a good guy.

“It's kind of like when Christmas is over—you're happy but you're sad,” Bliss added.

Now that the jackpot has been won, Bliss said organizers likely will hold off until at least April before starting up “Catch the Ace” again.

She explained the committee is very small and that running “Catch the Ace” takes considerable time and effort—a big job for only three or four people.

“It's a busy time of the year for me and it's a pretty big commitment," she remarked. "And it was getting bigger because of the amount of tickets we had to keep track of.”

Bliss added she was grateful for the help from her parents, Tony and Louise Bliss.

“I would like to take a break and maybe start up again at 'Spring Fever Days' or something like that,” Bliss said, noting the Rainy River Regional Abattoir board also has a full plate in the coming months.

She suggested the committee should look at another organization possibly pairing up with it to run “Catch the Ace” or taking over the reins altogether.

“It's a big commitment," she reiterated. ”I don't want to sound discouraging but it's a bigger commitment than most lotteries.

“But it's also pretty fun and now that people are really getting it, it's made the job a little easier,” added Bliss, noting committee members have had to spend quite a bit of time explaining to many people how the rules worked.

“If somebody else picks it up, somebody else picks it up," she reasoned. ”I feel like we live in a small enough community that we have got to work and support each other.

“I'd be happy to [give advice]," Bliss pledged. "There are things that can make it a bit easier.”

The “Catch the Ace” progressive raffle was in its 28th week—the longest it had ever run over five rounds without someone guessing the location of the ace.

The raffle first started in the spring of 2017.

Prior to Norman, the most recent grand prize winner had been Ed Carlson, who won $7,451.20 (this total included the weekly cash prize plus the pot) on Week 12 of Round 4.

The Round 3 winner was Gerry Allan, who won roughly $16,440 on Week 23.